


Far From Over

by coconut_27



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Riverdale, barchie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-28 03:49:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14440818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coconut_27/pseuds/coconut_27
Summary: Set after 2x19, Betty tells Archie about the Blackhood call, and Archie finally approaches the subject of their kiss in front of Cheryl's house.





	1. The Kiss

Archie hears his phone buzz on his dresser, it's a text from Betty:

 **B** :  _Hey Arch, can we talk?_

Him and Betty haven't had a one-on-one conversation in a while, unless you count their discussion in the auditorium about Veronica. Except, they weren't actually alone, so that doesn't count much. The thought of talking alone after not doing so for a while makes him anxious. Why does he feel like this? They're supposed to be Best friends. Granted, they haven't been on the best of speaking terms since their whole ordeal with the Blackhood, and what happpened at Picken's Park-ever since they kissed. He decides it's important that they have this talk, whatever it may be about. There has been a strain on their relationship after everything that has happened. 

 **A:** _Sure. What about?_  

 **B** : _I'll explain when I see you. Come to my house in 5?_

 **A** : _Okay see you then._

Archie begins shaking his leg up and down as he stares at their text conversation before him. The last time he and Betty were alone in her room was when they were trying to figure out who The Blackhood was. The thought makes him more anxious, so he tries to brush it off. It's been about 5 minutes already, has he really been in one thought for that long? He puts on his sneakers and heads out the door and makes his way to Betty's house. 

\-------------

Betty closes her bedroom door as soon as Archie enters her room and she instantly begins speaking. "Chic is gone, he is gone for good." Archie seems surprised, but not too much since Chic has left before. "What happened, are you okay?" was all that he could seem to let himself say. Betty looks up at Archie, the look of guilt appears on her face, she hesitates before answering. "Chic...he isn't...Chic isn't my real brother, Arch. He's not him, he _pretended_ to be him for whatever messed up reason. My mom was devastated Arch, I didn't know what else to do, I didn't think there was any other way to get rid of him for good, so he could never come back and hurt us again." Archie can't believe what he is hearing. "He  _pretended_ to be your brother? Where is your real brother, did you find him?"

Betty looks upset now, Archie wonders if he shouldn't have asked the last question. She plops herself down onto her bed as she speaks, "He's...dead. He died, and Chic _murdered_ him-" Betty becomes more frantic as she continues to speak, "-and the worst part is that my mom thinks he OD'd on Jingle Jangle. She has no clue of what really happened. She has had so much happen to her the past few months that I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth. I don't want her to be in even more pain, Arch. I just can't do it." Archie's heart aches for Betty. How much did he miss in a single day? He wants to wrap her in his arms and comfort her, but they haven't been on those terms lately. He settles for sitting beside her instead, resting his left hand on her upper back. A comforting hand is okay, he tells himself. "Betty, I...I'm so sorry. I can't believe this. But wait- what did you mean by you 'didn't know what else to do'? What exactly happened, Betty?" Archie stares at her and silently prepares himself for what Betty is about to tell him. "Well, when Jug and I confronted him about lying, he grabbed a knife and tried to make a run for it. I knocked him out before he did anything drastic. We tied him up to a chair in the basement and we questioned him. We weren't getting much out of him at first so we kinda took a break, to strategize. That's when Blackhood called me. He told me that Chic was a sinner and that he wanted me to hand him over so he could deal with the mistakes that he made. I didn't know what other choice I had...there were no other ways to guarantee that he'd never come back for us." Archie is stunned, mouth agape, "Betty...what happened?"

Betty decide's it's best to spare the details, or perhaps, she is scared of what  Archie will say if she does explain the details. "Let's just say that Chic will not be coming back anytime soon." Archie looks flustered and angered all at once, though it's not entirely directed towards Betty, "I can't believe this. I knew it, I said it to you guys, Mr. Svenson was not Blackhood! Or at least wasn't the only Blackhood." Betty looks at her feet as she speaks, "I'm sorry Archie, I should've listened to you to begin with. This is just the beginning..."

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there. I'm going to catch this bastard. After everything we've all been through, it's time to put an end to this. I've had enough, I'm not going to let anymore people die or get hurt." Archie's nostrils are flaring, and his breathing has gone heavy, his chest heaves with every breath. 

"Archie-" 

"Betty, I'm sick and tired of having to fear for our lives. This has to end. I'm alway's worried that something terrible will happen to you or Veronica, or my Dad or Jug. I can't go on with this constant fear or not knowing whether the people I care about will be his next target." Betty tries to speak, but Archie interrupts her again. "Betty, what if something happened to you when you turned Chic over? I couldn't live with myself knowing that I should've been there to help you."

"Archie, I'm okay, and what's done is done." Archie still can't seem to calm down, "Yes but-", Betty then rests her right hand on top of Archie's hand, he instantly stops speaking and he looks up at her. Betty is already looking at him with a reassuring face, that it'll be okay, that she is here with him. 

_I need you with me. I need Betty Cooper._

The words he said to her in the car in front of Cheryl's house pop into his mind. Before he can stop himself, the words seem to fly out, "Betty, did the kiss mean something?" She is completely thrown off by his words, not at all expecting them. She lets go of his hand."Archie, what- why are you-" Archie can't help himself now, the thoughts that have been pent up inside him begin to burst, he can't control the words that fly off of his tongue. "We haven't discussed what it meant, in fact we haven't discussed it at all. We've talked about it with Veronica, and Jug, but me and you have yet to talk about it. I thought you didn't want to talk about it so I left it, but we can't ignore this anymore. We haven't been the same since it happened, so I need to know." 

Betty takes a moment before she gives her reply. "Arch, we were both really scared, and so much was going on with The Blackhood, we just got caught up in the moment-" Archie is shaking his head, "But _we kissed,_ Betty. Are you saying you felt absolutely nothing? Tell me it didn't mean anything and I'll never bring it up again, but please, just tell me the truth." 

Betty stares at him, she is completely silent, unsure of what to say. This is all the response Archie needs to understand. "Betty, we've been ignoring this, but I don't think we can for much longer."

There is a knock on Betty's door. Alice opens the door, "Guys it's getting late and it's a school night." Betty feels somewhat relieved that her mom interrupted, though she knows that this conversation isn't over yet. "I'll see you tomorrow, Betty." Archie gives Betty one last look before he leaves, a mixture of sadness and disappointment on his face. 

They both know this conversation is far from over. 

 

 


	2. Fix It

It's been almost two months since Archie and Veronica broke up.

The day after Archie addressed the kiss with Betty he felt uneasy, and thought Veronica deserved to know the truth about his unsure feelings, so he came clean. It took Veronica less than two days to decide how this affected her and Archie's relationship- she broke up with him. Sure, it took some time for both of them to heal, but they both realized how toxic their relationship had become-especially because of Archie's dangerous relationship with Veronica's father- so they realized it was for the best. They're still friends now though, and seem to be in a good place.

Now that he is free of Hiram, and the Blackhood- who was eventually revealed and brought to justice- things in Riverdale seem to be more at peace, or at least less hectic than they had been the past few months. Archie is finally getting back into writing music, and his father bought him a used guitar after Archie had sold his to get him and his dad the used car to work on. Betty is back to writing for the Blue & Gold, exposing the people of their school and small, unsuspecting town of the hidden injustices that are taking place. Which, speaking of: Betty.

Betty and Jughead have also been broken up for about a month, the reason as to why Archie is unsure of, though he has been tempted to ask numerous times. In fact, he has been quite nervous to ask or even go near the subject. He wonders if the brief talk that he and Betty had about their kiss has anything to do with it considering the break up happened soon after, but he doesn't want to think too much into it. 

Archie and Betty still have yet to continue their conversation about the kiss since that night. Archie means to reproach the subject, but every time he would try to bring it up, he would stop himself because he felt the last thing Betty needed was more stress after her break up with Jug. But it's been a while, there has been healing and forgiveness (for both couples) and Archie has decided that he is finally going to do it. He is going to bring up the kiss again, but more than just that- his feelings for Betty as well. He just has been unsure of how to say it. But he has figured it out. He is going to tell her the only way he knows how: through song. 

He has been writing some serious emotional songs the past couple of weeks. One would think that after a break up he would be compelled to write sad emotional pieces, but it is actually quite the opposite. He needs to tell Betty. He can't keep this bottled up for much longer or he feels that one day soon he might burst.

\----------------

Today's the day, he is finally going to tell her. Hopefully. 

They have plans to hang out by Archie's house (for the first time in forever). He made the excuse that he wanted her to help work on the car him and his dad are fixing up. When she asked why he said that it's pretty damaged and they could use all the help they can get since his dad is working a lot the past few weeks. This is just his cover for the real reason.

Betty is supposed to meet Archie in his garage in less than five minutes. He is storing his guitar and stool in a convenient corner of the garage so he can use it later when he hears his phone get a text alert:

 **B** : _I'm walking over now. I'm gonna show you how a real man fixes a car!!_

Archie smiles as he reads the message when he hears a knock on his garage door. Betty opens the door and peeps her head through, "Arch?" When she sees him she opens the door more and walks in.

As she enters he notices how she is dressed for the occasion: a white t-shirt, jean-faded overalls, sneakers, and she has her hair up in a messy bun with a pink handkerchief wrapped around her head. He thinks to himself about how beautiful she looks, until he snaps out of it when he hears Betty's voice. "Arch, hello, I said are you ready to work on this thing?!" Archie then realizes that he must have been staring at her for longer than he intended to. He feels the heat rise in his cheeks and hopes that Betty doesn't take notice. 

"Yeah, let's do this." He pulls off the sheet that is covering the car and throws it in a corner. Betty begins walking around the car, closely examining it. Archie watches her examine it and can't help but think about how adorable she is as she squints her eyes in concentration. He quickly snaps out of it when she stops walking around the car and opens up the hood. "Hm, well this doesn't seem _too_ bad. This seems very doable, this ain't nothing for a Cooper." Archie laughs, "Great, lets get to work then!"

\------------

They've been working on the car hood together for about thirty minutes and Archie can't get the idea of telling Betty the truth out of his head. "Hey, thanks again for doing this." Betty glances at him but still continues to work on the car as she speaks, "No problem Arch, what are best friends for? Besides, we haven't hung out like this in a while. It's nice." She glances at him again, but this time with a soft smile on her lips. Archie can't help but smile back, his heartbeat suddenly becoming more rapid. 

"Hey so, I've been...writing more songs lately." Archie looks at her with caution. "That's great, Arch! I'm glad you're finally back at it, it's been so long." At this point Betty has stopped what she was doing to face Archie. "Yeah, I was actually wondering if I could play one for you? I'm not sure how I feel about it and want your thoughts on it." Archie is a bit nervous with his words, but keeps his composure. "Of course Arch, I'd love to hear it. As you know, I am one of your biggest fans." She speaks with a playful tone, just like she used to before all of the terrible incidents that they had faced had happened to them. Archie gives a slightly nervous laugh, "Thanks for the support." 

He slings his guitar around himself, props himself up on the stool he had in the corner and prepares himself. Betty leans against the side of the car with her arms crossed as she patiently watches and waits for Archie to play his song for her. 

He takes a deep breath and begins strumming his guitar. As he starts to sing his lyrics he is too nervous to look up at Betty, so he looks pretty much everywhere besides her, but mostly the garage floor: 

_Have you thought of me lately_

_Like I've been thinking 'bout you_

_Thought my feelings came on sudden_

_But realized they were nothing new_

_When you smile at me I'm speechless_

_When we're together time freezes_

_Just know that you're my weakness_

_I can't help it, I love you_

 

Archie finally looks up at Betty. He braves up the courage to stare into her eyes as he sings the second verse.

 

_We've been friends for so long_

_And I know so much can go wrong_

_This thought, it might scare you_

_To think this when I'm with you_

_You know that you’re my safe place_

_But more than that I must say_

_Being with you it's like home_

_I just want you to know, I love you_

 

As he finishes the verse he notices that Betty is smiling softly. Does he see a hint of sadness in her smile? He hopes that he is wrong. Archie lets go of his guitar and lets it hang from his strap, watching Betty as he waits for a response. After a few moments she opens her mouth to speak, "Arch, that was...that was beautiful. Did you-did you write it for Veronica, after you guys... broke up?" Betty speaks carefully, almost as if she does not want to hurt his feelings. Archie looks at her confusingly, not understanding how she has come to such a conclusion. 

"Betty," Archie begins, "No, I didn't write this after me and Veronica broke up. I mean technically I did, but the song isn't for her." At this news Betty scrunches up her brows, trying to piece it together, or possibly, is coming to terms with what she just realized. "Oh," she says, "so it's about someone else." There is a moment of silence as Betty processes. Archie looks at her with nervous anticipation. When Betty continues to silently look at Archie, processing, he carefully removes his guitar from his shoulder and places it down on the floor. He then walks over to Betty and grabs hold of both of her hands, he is reminiscent of when they held hands in the car the night of their kiss. With his hands he gently guides her to stand up so that they are looking at one another from a closer eye level. They continue to hold on to each other as Archie speaks, his tone soft and careful. "Betty, it's been a while since the last time we talked about it and I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I know you don't like discussing it, but I want you to know- I _need_ you to know, that I think about the kiss all the time. It felt...right. It felt safe. You make me feel safe, Betty. No one else has ever made me feel that way, not even Veronica, no matter how much I cared for her. She's just...not...you." Betty silently holds on to him, her eyes wide, she parts her lips to speak. "Arch, I'm-you're-", he interrupts as it is hard for her to get the words out.

"Betty, look, I know what I said to you the night of the dance was...I was wrong. I was unaware of how I felt, or maybe I was just lying to myself? I guess I thought it would be better to just stay friends, but- but I want to be more than that. I want to always be there to protect you and make you feel safe, the way that you make me feel safe. I hope I didn't mess everything up. I was so stupid th-" Betty interrupts, still wide-eyed,  "Yes." 

"You-yes? You mean...?" Betty is rapidly nodding her head as she smiles, tears forming in her eyes. "Yes, Arch, I feel the same way. I want more." Her grip on his hands grows tighter. "I was scared, scared that you'd hurt me...I know we're best friends but after everything I went through when I first...confessed, I wasn't sure I could handle it, take the risk of putting myself in such a vulnerable position with you again. But, I've thought about it. And I trust you- you're my best friend, Arch."

The smile on Archie's face grows wider and wider with each second, he can actually feel his eyes begin to fill with tears. "Betty...", he lets go of her hands, this time to cup her face. He takes her in for a moment, as they stare deeply into each other. He slowly pulls her in for a kiss which he waited for what feels like a lifetime. It starts soft and slow, but quickly grows into a deeper kiss, each taking in the taste of one another. 

Archie pulls away slightly so that they are able to look into each other's eyes, "I love you, Betty." She cups his cheek in her left hand, her touch sending a surge of warmth through his skin, "I love you too, Arch." 

Time freezes for a moment, each hoping that they can stay like this forever. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
